Blackhaired and Blueeyed
by Chi-Chiwawa
Summary: Charles Whitaker has been killed, and Tintin sets out to find the killer.  With the help of Charles' daughter and the ex-messenger, let's see if Tintin can once again crack the killer. K  for now. Tintin/OC.  I know, but who else is there?
1. Whitaker's Mystery

**Hiiiiiii! I re-did this chapter, so I hope it's better. Yeesh, looking it back over I realize that it was really bad, so I hope you can all forgive. Answers to reviews:**

**Tintin and Chang are H-O-T – ****I notice that you changed your username, "wink." I'm really glad you like this story and I hope you like the re-do. You were my first reviewer for this story and I love ya!**

**Pink-Pencil-Girl303 - ****Thanks for pointing out that Jade's going down the Mary-sue road! I hope that that problem's fixed now! Thanks for the stuff and the part about the notes- we don't know for sure, huh ;)? Yeah, I may keep the story in third-person for a while, and have some rare first-person chapters, thanks for the tip! Oh, and I like Oliver's character too! I'm thinking that he may be one of the main humor factors in this story. Anyway, thanks for reviewing! Were you one of those who put this story in alerts? Not sure, I delete those every once in a while, but if you are, thanks! Anyway, I am REALLY going to try to find the comics, hopefully before I start chapter two. Keep reviewing (if you can)!**

**Daniella the muggle****- THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! You noticed many of my problems and I hope I managed to fix them all. I'm on limited time, so I won't address them all but there are some I would like to apologize for-**

"**mon dieu"- oh, sorry! I saw him say it in some other stories, so I figured. But I fixed it!**

**Height- I wasn't really paying attention when I typed that down, so please forgive! But that was also addressed.**

"**Before any inappropriate thoughts…"- oh my gosh, SOORRRY! I never meant it like that! I just meant like being in a relationship or something, but nothing that far! I would never mean it like that and I am REALLY SORRY!**

**Jade- yup, lots of problems with her, but she's a really difficult character to explain until further in the story. I tweaked her however. I hope you like! **_**Is **_**she American? I don't really know that myself, yet. Do you want her to be? I'll ask that question at the end of the chapter.**

**Action scenes- I will be completely honest. I'm TERRIBLE AT THEM! But I hope this is a bit clearer.**

** Yeah, so there were quite a bit of issues with this story, but thank you for addressing them so I can get better! I hope you keep reading, and I am really going to try to find the comics, preferably before I start chapter two!**

**Hufflepuff Hex-**** Yeah, Chip's POV would be interesting! He may be the first! But for a few chapters, I'm probably going to keep it in third. Until then, thanks for reviewing and I'm glad you like the story and Snowy's romance! Oh my gosh, you even put this story on alert and everything, thank you!**

**MissGuardian Angel****- Thank you! That's exactly what I was going for, and I hope it's even better now that it's been fixed. I hope you keep reading, though!**

**Yup, preeeety long, huh? But anyway, onto the story!**

A tall, well-dressed man in his forties exits the "Huntington" diner, a satisfied expression on his face and a black cane in his hand. His short, curly black hair is tucked under a top hat. It is late evening, and barely anyone's on the street as he walks down the street with a swagger in his step and a kind grin on his face. As the select few people pass, he smiles at each. Little girls giggle, women blush, and little boys toothily grin back, eager to be close to their role model.

He continues down the sidewalk until he feels a chill shoot up his spine; he's being followed. He stops abruptly, and his head swirls around. Nothing. With a small "hm," he turns back around and continues on. His eyes scan the beautiful world around him, and he lets out a peaceful sigh as he just takes it all in.

A step is heard on the concrete behind him. The man once more swivels around, to find the space behind him again empty. He shakes his head, certain that there's someone following. But the sense of sight tells him otherwise. Flustered, he keeps walking, and a shadowy figure appears behind him. Quickly, the long-coated man swished around, his coat spinning in the air as he turned. He cannot see the face of the person before him, but he can tell that they're not there to be friendly.

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"Let's see, what's in the paper today; **'Rich Man Killed by the Huntington Diner.'** Huh, I wonder what's in this," a redhead thought aloud at his desk. He was a bit tall for his age (I'm assuming 17), and he wore a white shirt with a blue sweater over it, and puffy brown pants. He had short, orange hair and a signature quiff at the front. No matter how much gel one can use, it will never stay down.

By his side, a white terrier wags its tail excitedly. It looked almost like Schnauzer, or a dog originated from Germany. It had perfectly cut curly fur that one could not resist petting. It had adorable eyes and a fluffy snout. It also had a smile that could tame the anger of the most rabid pirate.

"_'Charles Whitaker, well-known rich heir had been murdered on the evening of August 16th'_... That was yesterday, Snowy!" The famous redhead with a quiff, known as Tintin, turns to his trusty dog Snowy.

The dog responds with a bark of interest.

"_'With barely any info on the murder, all leads we have to work up from go to this note found morbidly on the man's body:_

_**A slip of paper. That passes on money. Money I can't have. But that will change. Trust, you will see. I am the murderer. That money will be. Mine in the near. Future, love "Ploy Bread."**_

_Ploy Bread? Never underestimate the true mental disturbance of a murderer. A slip of paper that passes on money. What could that be?'_

What could that be, Snowy?"

Hearing a thoughtful bark in response, Tintin rests his head in his hands. What piece of paper could pass on money?

"A check? A treaty? A bill?" Tintin lists off possible options, "We'll have to look more into this. I sense a story, and I'd be ashamed as a journalist if I couldn't write it!"

He hops off of his chair and rushes down the stairs, his sidekick on four legs trailing behind. After a curt yet friendly greeting to Ms. Finch, he leaps down the steps on the porch and walks down to the newspaper office, skimming for more details in his own copy as he went.

"_'Since Whitaker's six daughters'_

_ - _hmm, they must've been really trying for a son!-

_ 'found about the murder, they have been crestfallen, each one sulking about except for his Whitaker's youngest, Jade Whitaker. She's determined to find out who killed her father, and she's headed out to interrogate several people. Is this legal? Perhaps, but at least we know she'll remain respectful... Or at least we can __hope__ so.'_

Hmm, Jade Whitaker. Maybe we should ask her about her father, see if she knows what that 'slip of paper' might be. What do you think, Snowy?... Snowy?"

Tintin looks up from his paper and swirls around, searching for the terrier. He finds Snowy, but he's staring at something, somebody.

"Snowy?"

Tintin strides over to him, confused by his abrupt stop. He tries to find what Snowy could be looking at. There was a knickknack salesman, a woman being painted, a girl looking around desperately, and her... Female dog. Tintin blinks and looks down at Snowy.

"Are you looking at the dog, boy?"

Snowy whimpers in anticipation and longing, confirming Tintin's thoughts. Tintin looks at the dog: she was a black terrier, her hair more silky and flowing than Snowy's. Her eyes were almost completely covered, making her look adorable in the face. Yet, she could see perfectly fine. Her small paws were barely visible underneath her long fur, and she was a bit smaller than Snowy, but not by much. To Tintin, the dog was very cute.

With that, he turns to the owner, and was slightly taken aback. She was very pretty, at a bit of a small height of 5'3, while Tintin himself was a bit taller, but not by too much. The girl was skinny, with some curves and a petite figure. She had high cheek bones and stunning dark blue eyes that accents her wavy black hair, which stops halfway down her back in a low ponytail, which took Tintin by surprise. Women naturally wouldn't wear a hairstyle so... Casual. She was wearing a black skirt that stopped at her knees, and a white puffy blouse. She had on white knee socks and black dress shoes, and she had a white purse on her shoulder. She seemed to be sixteen.

Tintin looks away to refrain from staring; the girl would notice. Right when he turns to continue to the Newspaper Office, he hears steps coming his way. Not knowing how to react, he looks down at his newspaper, pretending to be interested in its contents.

"Hello? Uh, sir, I was wondering if you could help me." Tintin turns and faces the person. It was the girl.

"Of course! Problem?"

"Were you anywhere near the Huntington Diner last evening?"

Tintin blinks in recognition; he had read that Huntington Diner is near where Whitaker had died.

"Afraid not. You're Jade Whitaker, aren't you?"

Mentioned girl hesitantly smiles. "I am indeed. I'm supposing you read about me in the paper?"

"Yes. Truly sorry about your loss, ma'am. I hope you find the killer!" Tintin turns to leave, when Jade calls him back.

"W-Wait!"

He looks back, to see the girl looking down, a mixture of hesitance, hope, self-loathing and pride.

"Listen, I know we don't know each other... At all. But I've heard of you. Tintin, was it? You seem like someone sharp, someone," her eyes furrow, and she growls to herself, "Intelligent. Could you help me discover the killer?"

Tintin blinks; did he really seem that intelligent all the time? Is that why Haddock was being grumpy towards him recently? Well, then again he was always grumpy.

And she wanted him to help her? _'Well, I do want to learn more about this case. And it does seem like a good story to write. But why does she seem so hesitant if she asked me?'_ Tintin wonders to himself.

Jade's smile starts to waver and she impatiently looks scans the scene around her; the woman was yelling at the artist because it made her look like a cartoon character, and the salesman had just been robbed. _'Oh, the world we live in,'_ She thought. Noticing that Tintin still hadn't responded, Jade sighs.

"Right. I should've known that they wouldn't help me. They're all the same," Jade's face goes dark as she turns to leave.

"Jade!"

The girl twirls around to see Tintin smiling brightly at her.

"Who said I wouldn't help?"

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The two of them walk across the sidewalk as Tintin thinks of where to start. It seemed a bit heartless to immediately start talking about her father, so some small talk seems like somewhere to begin.

"So, how long have you been out asking people?"

Jade goes slightly sheepish, and inwardly curses herself for it.

"Well... Since dawn. Let's just say some weren't too happy about it."

Tintin raises an eyebrow, amused. "Some?"

Jade almost cracks a smile but replaces it with a deep frown. "Alright, most. A lot of them snapped at me and either slammed their door or skulked off saying that they were late for something. It's getting me nowhere. That's... Ugh, why I need your help."

Tintin chuckles, slightly amused at her wounded pride. "Well, we're honored to help. Right, Snowy?" No response. Tintin sighs and looks around. He finds Snowy awkwardly shuffling in front of Jade's terrier. The counterpart barks in greeting, and Snowy lets out a timid yip.

"Ah, do you like my traveling partner, Belle? It seems your dog has taken a liking!" Jade remarks with a small grin at her dog while Tintin watches Snowy with a knowing grin on his face.

"Yes, it seems he has. So, let's talk about your father."

The two of them start to walk off, talking about their share of knowledge about the murder. It seems that Jade didn't know anything about the slip of paper either. "_Ploy Bread_. I was the first one to read that note because I was the one that found it."

Tintin blinks: "You were?"

"Yes," Jade shivers, "When I saw him, in that horrid state, I was the first at his side, and I remembered how I would always greet him: I'd hug him, and he'd pull out a present from his left coat pocket. I reached into his pocket, and found two notes. That's when I-" Jade started sniffling, and turns away from him. Tintin didn't push her any further. He knew she was strong, but not that strong. 'Two notes?' he thinks to himself.

He then notices the girl about to start crying, and awkwardly holds his arms out. "Need a hug?" he softly jokes, and Jade watches him cautiously. She narrows her eyes, not sure if she can trust him. Tintin, almost feeling rejected, is about to give up when Jade slams into him and starts sobbing. Wide-eyed, he looks down at the wailing girl, rigid. He takes deep breaths and relaxes himself, letting Jade cry.

They stand there for a moment, at first awkwardly, but they find themselves comfortable after a while. Tintin hears the poor girl sniffle and hiccup, and felt sympathy. Losing a parent really hurts, and he would know… but that's a story for later. Several minutes later they're still standing there, but Jade's gone quiet. Tintin thinks of releasing, but Jade doesn't budge.

Jade breathes in, deeply. She was hugging... **A boy**. _**A male**_. _**A**_ _**man.**_ Several things wrong with this picture. She knew she was going to break down soon but why now? Why in the company of a guy? She narrows her closed eyes in frustration. This wasn't right. She can't hug him. No, she would not get close to him. He's no different from the rest:

_Unbelievable!_

_Some winner!_

_Jerk!_

_Stupid!_

She winced, and subconsciously gripped Tintin tighter, who noticed but did not question.

"Awe, what a sweet couple!"

The two of them jumped back, blushing as the elderly woman who commented on it giggled and kept walking. Jade stared after, a mixture of horror, disgust and shock on her face.

"No! Wait ma'am, we're not…." Jade trails off as the woman just keeps going. After a couple of awkward seconds, Tintin turns to the flustered girl to say something. However, Jade had already bounced back, with a look in her eyes that Tintin couldn't decipher, and an almost conflicted expression on her face.

"A-A-Anyway, that's when I started crying. I had meant to keep the notes a secret, but my sisters managed to grab and take the first one," Jade rolls her eyes, "Thankfully, I still got to keep the second one as a secret."

Tintin blinks in interest. "Well, would you mind telling me what it said?"

Jade looks at him, and narrows her eyes. For a few seconds she analyzes him, before slowly taking a crumpled piece of paper out of her skirt pocket. She hands it to Tintin, who reads it quietly:

" _'Four lettered names, oh. How I hate them. But who am I? To talk since I? Know somebody with that? Four lettered name, but. Who could I be. Talking about, oh it's. The girl who is. Reading this note and. Is keeping it her. Dirty little secret, why. Must you be so. Secretive, strange little one? You black-haired and blue-eyed?'_ _Truthfully yours, Ploy Bread.'_

Four-lettered name. Black-haired and blue-eyed. Keeping this note a secret. Jade?" Tintin looks up to her slowly, and she blinks, confused.

"What?"

"This note might be talking about you."

Jade's eyes widen, and she snatches back the note, re-reading it. She mutters to herself: "Four-lettered name. Black-haired and blue-eyed... Oh dear. But why-h-how-who?"

Tintin holds one hand behind his back and the other up to his chin. "I don't get it either, but it seems to fit."

"But how would they know I'd keep it a secret? Heck, how would they even know that I'd GET the note before the police discovered it?"

"Because the murderer knows your relationship with your father?"

Jade raises an eyebrow. "You'd have to be truly disturbed to even **bother **to pick that up. The murderer must've either been naturally observant, or a creep."

Tintin shakes his head; Jade truly was interesting.

"But even if they did target me, why would they want to? Why are they talking to me, specifically?"

Both of them go into a thinking stasis. "We don't know… Yet! But it probably has to do with the other note. But what could you have to do with it?" Tintin asks, more so to himself.

Jade looks up, and sees a shadow behind Tintin. "Tintin, look out!" she warns, and Tintin turns, barely dodging a hand reaching for the wallet in his pocket. The figure curses, and darts off, grabbing Jade's purse. She turns in anger.

"HEY!" she bellows.

Tintin takes off after the thief. "Wait here, Jade!" With that, he and the thief disappear around the corner. Snowy barks something similar to Belle and loyally skitters after his owner. Jade watches for a second, then turns to Belle, smirking. Belle looks up at her, waiting expectantly for her to go after them.

"Wait here? Please!"

She runs to where she last saw them, and sees Tintin chasing the man further down the street. She runs after, knocking into several people.

"HEY!"

"Sorry!"

"Watch it!"

"Sorry!"

"Look out!"

"Sorr- wait, what?"

She looks ahead to see a fountain; she was about to crash into it. _'Ugh,' _she groans. Not bothering to stop, in her momentum she hops onto the ledge of the beautiful water decoration, and leaps across it, almost tripping as her foots lands on a bump in the other side of the ledge. She then jumps back to the ground and keeps running, shouting a curt thanks to whomever warned her. Belle catches up with her after simply running around the fountain.

With that, she continues after Tintin and the thief, Belle hopping at her heels. They turn several corners until Jade notices that they were about to reach a dead end in the road- they were at the dock. The thief has nowhere to hide. Jade grins; it felt good not being the victim.

The lanky thief comes to a stop before the water, realizing his fate. But before Tintin can grab him, everything turns around. The thief dodges Tintin and pushes him into the water, which was about ten feet below the dock's edge. Tintin gasps in alarm before he hits the water, Snowy faithfully following. Belle whimpers as she reaches the edge. Seeing the dog, the thief swirls around to see Jade there.

"Hey! I don't know where you're from, but here, stealing doesn't go unpunished!" Jade growls.

"Aw, well it's too bad, really. I was just about to give you some cash, too, to be a gentleman," the thief waves Tintin's wallet and Jade's eyes widen, "You could've bought yourself something pretty! But, why waste money on the inferior gender?"

Jade's eye widen even further in shock, fury and almost hurt. As she growls, Belle recoils, knowing Jade's about to blow. "Great day to die, isn't it?" Jade remarks to the thief, who blinks.

"What?"

With that, he's tackled into the water just as Tintin hits the surface. He watches the blur go under, and after a few seconds it clicks to him.

"Great Snakes, was that Jade?" He blinks at Snowy before taking a deep breath and diving back under.

Jade sends a kick to the imbecilic man's gut, and bubbles spurted out of the thief's mouth. Jade punches him square in the jaw, but the man retaliates by punching her in the stomach; she flies back, winded. Immediately, Jade rises to the surface for air, and she sees Tintin's head come up beside her.

"Crumbs! Jade, what are you doing here? What if something happened to you?"

There is the sound of a popping bubble, and they both turn to see Jade's purse and Tintin's wallet floating on the surface.

"Well, it was worth it. If it wasn't for me, you would've lost the thief!" Jade says proudly.

"Speaking of which, where is the-" suddenly, Tintin is pulled back below the surface, bubbles replacing his existence.

"Tintin? Belle, help Snowy out of the water; I'll be right back!" With that, Jade dives underwater, leaving the two dogs to ponder how to get Snowy out.

Belle looks around, wondering if there was anything that he could climb up; nothing. She whines in frustration, but then something nearby catches her eye. She yips, and bounds over to it, giving a bark as a sign for Snowy to wait there. Snowy snorts; like he could go anywhere else.

Snowy waits there, staring at the top of the ledge where Belle once was. His paws begin to tire in the water, and he whines for Belle to hurry up. She reappears moments later, something in her teeth. Snowy squints, and sees that it's a rope. He barks in gratefulness as the end is thrown to him.

He grips on tightly with his teeth, and Belle starts to pull, growling at the effort. Snowy holds on as his body exits the water, and he cheers Belle on, his barks muffled in the rope. In minutes, he feels the sogginess of the wooden platform and eagerly climbs the rest of the way on.

Snowy trots to Belle and gives her a bark of gratefulness; he was impressed by her. What surprises Snowy is when Belle nuzzles him under the snout; she had been worried for him. He sheepishly grins as Belle stops cuddling and rushes back to the edge of the dock, watching for her owner. Snowy silently follows.

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As Jade goes back underwater; she searches for the thief and the journalist. 'Goodness Gracious Goodness, where could they be?'

The sound of swishing water turns her attention to the underwater combat taking place right behind her. She turns around and barely dodges Tintin flying past. She grabs him and nudges him as a signal to ask if he's ok.

When he nods, she turns to the thief, who looks at them both, worried. Two against one. Jade is about to attack when Tintin pats her shoulder. She looks to him in confusion and slight annoyance. He gives her a look that tells her he can take him. At first she refuses, but after another look and a sudden plea from her lungs, she gives in and rushes to the surface.

Jade gasps for breath as the water rushes down her face. She pushes her hair away and searches for the dogs. "... Belle? ... Snowy?"

A bark brings her attention up to the platform. There's Belle, barking in relief. Jade chuckles lightly; Belle was always worried for the well-being of others, even if she was the one in danger. Snowy is at the eager dog's side, still staring worriedly at the water, searching for his owner. Jade frowns and turns back to the water.

As much as she hated it, she almost, _almost_, worried for the boy. He was supposed to help, after all. What use would he be if he got hurt? Automatically, Jade scolds herself; THAT, was too rude. As she turns to go back for Tintin, he appears over the small ripples of the almost still water. His hair is dripping wet; his quiff, for once, down.

He swims to Jade, the thief trapped in his grasp. Jade smirks at the look of defeat in the thief's eyes. She, for the first time, actually nods to Tintin in respect. He was pretty impressive; holding his breath so long and taking down the thief at the same time. He smiles curtly as he catches her gaze.

"Well, well, well. Guess who's going to jail?" Jade says proudly, turning to the thief, "Who's inferior now?"

"Well, one problem. How do we get out of the water?" Tintin asks. As a response, the end of a rope thunks him in the head. He clutches his head in confusion, before looking up to see Snowy and Belle with the other end of the rope in their teeth.

"Brilliant job, pups! Alright, who goes first? Who weighs the least?" Tintin questions. Jade raises her hand, and Tintin throws the rope to her. Swimming to the dogs, she gets a good grip on the rope. "Pull, pups!" She commands.

The two dogs start pulling, growls of different octaves coming from both muzzles. The two terriers struggle, flying in several directions to try and pull her out. Tintin swims to her, with the thief's collar in his hand, and uses the other hand to latch around her waist and try to hoist her up. Jade mumbles thanks, but then the most dreadful thing happened to her; her face tints slightly. Earlier was different, but why again? Jade cursed herself in her head; _'Don't go soft,'_ she warns herself.

It was just a good thing for Tintin that she hadn't looked at him; his ears were the color of a tomato. The thief did, however, and he snickers; he was responded with a punch from Tintin and a kick from Jade.

The dogs continue pulling, and soon Jade was out of the water, Tintin releasing her. Getting up to the top was a long process, but she finally was able to touch the wood and pull herself up, like Snowy had done earlier. When her feet finally touch the platform, she turns and throws the rope back down to Tintin, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling of the wet clothes clinging to her skin. They then realized the issue; Tintin and the thief had to get out. If Tintin goes up first, the thief would swim off. If the thief went first, he might sneak off. And trying to bring them both up might be too difficult for Jade.

"Err, how do we do this?" Jade growls to herself, upset that she didn't know what to do.

"Uhh... Wait, Jade! Is there we could tie the rope to?" Jade blinks; why didn't she think of that? She looks around; there was a tree nearby.

"Hmm. There's a tree?"

"A tree... That could actually work! How long is the rope?" Tintin asks.

"Long enough that I'd have to jog to get the end of the rope and bring it back to you."

"Well, that should be enough. Can you tie the end of the rope to the tree?"

Jade, curious to what he was thinking, picks up the rough, ripped end of the rope and wraps it around the coarse bark of the tree a few times before tying it. She pulls on it a bit, and confirms that it's secure. Sighing, she returns to Tintin and nods.

"Next?"

"Next," he pauses to pull on the rope he tied around the thief's wrists, checking to make sure it was tight, "I climb up."

Jade blinks in slight confusion; _'What about the thief?'_ She then realizes that the thief can't escape with the rope tied around his wrists. Tintin would climb up then they'd reel in the thief. She lowly growls; of course _Tintin_ would think that up, and not her.

"Oh. Well, don't forget my purse and your wallet."

Tintin nods, and grabs it.

He then grabs the rope, and starts climbing. Jade stands there awkwardly, waiting for him to reach her. The dogs beside her cheer Tintin on; barking anxiously, wagging their tails. In seconds Tintin has scaled the entire thing. Jade blinks in surprise; he was that good?

"Alright, let's reel in the thief!" he gives Jade her mini-bag as he stands up, and they turn to the thief, whom was fervently trying to free himself of the ropes, but to no avail.

The journalist and the adventurer begin hauling up the thief, whom was muttering evil to himself. With both Tintin and Jade pulling on the rope, he was on the platform in seconds.

"Wellllll, it was nice meeting a thief and going through all this Rick-a-frack, but I think it's time you go, as they say in America, 'downtown,'" Jade remarks with a mischievous grin, and Tintin grabs the man's arm.

"Wai-Wai-Wait! I'm more valuable to you OUT of jail!" the man protests; Jade raises an eyebrow.

"Pfft. How?"

"I was a messenger for Ploy Bread!"

This draws both's attention. "W-W-What? When? How? WHY?" Jade screams at him; the thief jumps back and Tintin calms her down.

"She wann'ed me to leave a note for ya, but I guess I got a wee bit distracted deliverin'. I was juss 'posed to put it in your purse, but I overdid it, eh? My apologies, broad," the thief apologizes. Jade's eye twitches at the word 'broad,' and she slowly brings up her hands in a strangling position. The thief notices, and flinches.

"Well, where's the note?" Tintin asks excitedly. The messenger hands him the note, and Jade runs to his side. They both look at the note, and they lean so far in that their checks mesh together. Realizing that, both jerk back, beet red and Jade lets Tintin read while inwardly growling at herself. While Tintin was the color of his hair, the ex-thief watched them, snickering.

"Alright," Tintin tried to break the awkwardness, "The note reads:

_'So you've got him. The know-it-all red one,'_"

"Pfft, know-it-all is right," Jade mutters to herself, but Tintin doesn't seem to hear, _"'So you may possibly. Catch me, with the. Help of that idiot. I knew he'd fail. Ahh, who cares I? Know I'll be caught. But who says I. Can't enjoy the chase?_

_ Ploy Bread'_

_ 'Help of that idiot'_? Was he talking about you?" Tintin asks, turning to the thief. The messenger stands there, offended.

"I don't believe that guy! Hmph!" he pouts.

"_'Help of that idiot,'_ huh?" Jade says to herself, contemplating whether or not they should keep him around. The messenger seems to notice, because he suddenly starts smiling desperately.

"Sooo, since you two whippersnappers know nothing about the Ploy Bread, I was thinkin' I might be able to assist."

Jade snorts, sneering. "I'm not so sure I should trust a man who deliberately _**"borrowed"**_ my handbag," she growls. Said man raises his hands in innocence.

"Hey, I ain't lying; I voulda' given back yur purse, but you'da send me to jail, anyvay!" he defends, almost agitatedly.

"Oh, right. So I should've trusted you to come back five seconds later with my purse and a smile on your face and I would've just let you go, wishing you good fortune and calling you a saint!" Jade mocks.

"Ey! Be glad that I _gave_ you the blasted note!" the messenger growls.

"Both of you, shut it! Jade, it is true that he at least gave you the note; besides, he _could_ possibly help us out, somehow," Tintin reasons and turns to the courier, "And you; Jade has a reason to freak out. You did take her purse, and my wallet. Besides, you are also a carrier for the person that killed her father, so she may consider you a possible enemy. By the way, why _did _you take Jade's purse instead of just giving her the note?"

The emissary reddens slightly. "Second nature."

Jade narrows her eyes while Tintin inaudibly sighs. This man was not making it easy. Tintin turns to Jade, and gestures her over to him. Raising an eyebrow, she obeys, and he whispers into her ear.

"Listen, as much as this guy seems…," Tintin looks to the man, who was busy swatting at a butterfly that was mockingly swirling around him; Tintin sighs, then turns back to Jade, "Ridiculous and reprehensible, he could be an important asset to helping solve this crime. So far, we have nowhere to start. Think about it: Would you rather reach into a pit of rats to get your Grandmother's prized pin, or return to her empty-handed and see her crest-fallen?"

Jade stares him down, and both of them do not waver for several seconds. The butterfly had flown away from the flustered messenger and had flown to Jade's shoulder. Jade looks down at the beautiful insect; its wings softly flutter as it gets comfortable on the girl's shoulder. Jade takes a deep sigh, and walks to the suspicious carrier.

"Alright, you're in." Tintin silently thanks the butterfly.

"But the second you turn and run, you'll be dead," Jade threatens.

"'Course I won't run! I barely lived through one scrap with the two of you. Not riskin' that again! Name's Oliver, but people call me Chip!" The man smiles brightly to reveal two clipped teeth. Jade blinks; well, she knows where he got THAT name.

"Name's Tintin."

"Jade Whitaker. Charmed."

As they turn to walk off, Tintin blinks. "Wait a second, if you were just supposed to give us the note, why did you take my wallet?"

Tintin and Jade look at Chip, their eyes half-lidded. Chip looks at them, and the corners of his mouth slowly rise into a sheepish smile.

"W-Well, err… uh, the thing is… Uhhh..."

"Arf!"

SPLASH!

All three turn around to see that Snowy had fallen back into the water, and Belle was pacing, worried. All three sigh; this mystery was going to take a bit.


	2. Author's Note

** Chapter One's been re-done! Please take a look!**


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